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Help to get a rescued African Grey out of China?

sarahkelly

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I found an African Grey parrot outside in some trees in Shenzhen, China almost a year ago. It has a closed leg band with letters and numbers, which apparently they do not do in China. And she (I think it's a she) said "hello" in English. I assume she was brought in by a foreign family and either escaped or was abandoned (common pet problem here). A search in the neighborhood and on expat forums for months has yielded no results in finding her original owners. After almost a year the bird is part of our family and we really want to keep her. Now we are in a position where we want to move out of China. Pet relocations services won't touch it without documentation. But we have no paperwork on the bird, no CITES certificate. China will not issue any such certificate or even a "healthy pet" travel certificate for a parrot, as they only consider dogs and cats as pets. So far all communication with local agencies has had the same result: turn over the bird to wildlife authorities. We are very reluctant to do this in a country that is not famed for its animal rights, and not native to African Grey parrots. Any suggestions anybody has to either get her out safely, acquire a CITES certificate for an African Grey, or re-home her to a good home in China are welcome! We are moving to Thailand, still within Asia, if that helps in the suggestions.
 

Clueless

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The was a gal that managed to get a bird out of Dubai.

Maybe she has thoughts. Let me see if I can find that thread.
 

SandraK

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Hasn't been on since last year but I'm wondering if @shanlung might have some thoughts/suggestions or input. Is your family in China for business (as in you were transferred) there? If so, have you tried asking within your company.

Have you tried to locate the breeder from the band info you have? You might be able to get papers for your bird that way.
 

sarahkelly

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@SandraK I work for a Chinese company and have had my assistant make about a hundred calls already for this. China WILL NOT issue a CITES certificate for the bird. The wildlife authorities actually demand that I tell them where I live so they can come take her away. I will not. I don't imagine she would be taken care of.

But I cannot cross a border without the CITES. I won't smuggle her and risk having her confiscated and probably euthanized. So I think my only option is if I can obtain a CITES from another country/source.

How can I track breeder info? It is a closed band with letters and numbers. But it seems every band registry I find is quite regional.

I have already befriended my Chinese neighbors who own 12 parrots, including 1 African Grey, and my Pepper will go live with them if I really cannot get her out of the country. They are not breeders, just parrot enthusiasts who really care for their birds. They don't have any CITES, as they do not plan on breeding or selling or moving the birds.
 

Fergus Mom

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What a situation! I really hope you can obtain the certificate, or somehow get documentation to take her with you. At least you do have a back-up plan with the family of 12! :heart:
 

SandraK

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@SandraK

How can I track breeder info? It is a closed band with letters and numbers. But it seems every band registry I find is quite regional.
I realize that things are different in China but what I'm trying to suggest is a search for the origin/breeder based on the markings on the band. This will give you an idea of what I mean. USDA APHIS | Bird Leg Band Information

You've said that your bird can say hello in English which would lead one to believe an English speaking family/person owned him at one time. Are the markings on his closed band in Chinese or in Western characters? Forgive me if I'm repeating thoughts which you may have already tried.

May I suggest trying to contact the USDA staff in Beijing? It might be worth asking if they keep track of birds imported from the U.S.? Or maybe your bird was reported as lost to them.
USDA APHIS | Contact Us - Beijing, China

Are there any Western vets who treat foreigners' pets? Try contacting them about any missing greys and possibly ask if they have/know of a listing of breeder's bands. Even if you are able to find out where your bird came from, have you looked into what restrictions Thailand may have on importing a bird?

I apologize for throwing so many questions at you without any really helpful answers.
 

SandraK

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Just wish I could be more helpful. I know several members here have also added links to a site with leg band information but I couldn't find it.
 

rocky'smom

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Can you put the band info on here? We might able to find more information for you. If the characters are sideways just say sideways in order.
 

Fuzzy

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Where are you intending to move to? Maybe that country would be willing to issue a CITES certificate?
 

jmfleish

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Because you have a closed band on her, that should be proof enough that she is not wild caught. I don't know enough about the CITES list but you may want to look more into that. CITES is for conservation of wild parrots...domestic parrots do not have anything to do with them...the closed band proves that this was a domestically bred parrot. You could try that angle possibly?
 

Hawk12237

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I found an African Grey parrot outside in some trees in Shenzhen, China almost a year ago. It has a closed leg band with letters and numbers, which apparently they do not do in China. And she (I think it's a she) said "hello" in English. I assume she was brought in by a foreign family and either escaped or was abandoned (common pet problem here). A search in the neighborhood and on expat forums for months has yielded no results in finding her original owners. After almost a year the bird is part of our family and we really want to keep her. Now we are in a position where we want to move out of China. Pet relocations services won't touch it without documentation. But we have no paperwork on the bird, no CITES certificate. China will not issue any such certificate or even a "healthy pet" travel certificate for a parrot, as they only consider dogs and cats as pets. So far all communication with local agencies has had the same result: turn over the bird to wildlife authorities. We are very reluctant to do this in a country that is not famed for its animal rights, and not native to African Grey parrots. Any suggestions anybody has to either get her out safely, acquire a CITES certificate for an African Grey, or re-home her to a good home in China are welcome! We are moving to Thailand, still within Asia, if that helps in the suggestions.
Hello, problem is there is really no set standards for parrot leg bands. The band could be a private breeder in which case would have their own identification system,
if it was banded per government operated import stations then you may be able to find details of the band on the department of agriculture website that ( last I knew) kept a log. ( for The U.S.A anyway)… The band will have a letter as the first symbol, this identifies the " station Code" where it was banded. The very second letter is the importers code, this is followed by 3 numbers, this is the birds individual code, identifies the bird. Attached I have given a Leg band Registry, it may help if bird is from states.
Leg Band Registry
 
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